


Affinity Unbound: An Abridged Re-telling

by radiocabel



Series: Affinity Unbound [2]
Category: Affinity Unbound
Genre: Creation Myth, F/F, Fantasy, Original Character(s), Original Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2019-11-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:34:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21555583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radiocabel/pseuds/radiocabel
Summary: This is a concise summary of the events of Affinity Unbound, my first novel-length story featuring original characters in an original setting. As I’m writing my sequel, Black Hornet, I wanted to be able to catch new readers up to speed without having to read my older writing. I understand forty-something chapters isn’t exactly light reading, so I opted to make this summary of relevant events. Note: this summary will contain full spoilers for all of Affinity Unbound. Thank you, and enjoy!
Series: Affinity Unbound [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/731727
Kudos: 1





	Affinity Unbound: An Abridged Re-telling

One hundred years before the events of _Black Hornet_ , we follow Yori Bellevoir: a Creaden markswoman. She laments being born and growing up without an ‘affinity,’ or a natural affiliation to one of the eight fundamental elements of the world. These elements are water, earth, fire, energy, air, space, time and spirit. She jokes that the eight affinities make an acronym ‘we feasts.’ 

When she grows old enough, she decides to enlist in the army. Her reason for joining is simple: it’s where she thinks she belongs. However, deep down, she feels insecure about her own abilities, and believes the army would give her a sense of purpose, even if it isn’t _her_ purpose.

Not far behind her is Elric Inocencio, her childhood friend. As an orphan, Elric was often alone during his youth. Yori sought him out and together, they shared a mutual understanding and kinship. He decides to enlist with her out of obligation and duty, feeling he needed to keep her safe. Underneath this, however, he suspects foul play surrounding his parents’ deaths, and hopes the military can guide him towards answers.

The two meet with General Nortia, but before they do, they run into a mysterious Creaden named simply ‘Charlie.’ They appear to break into the military compound, but are later seen as a member of the specialist squad--an elite group of soldiers that report directly to the general. 

Charlie was detained by Nortia and, as reparation for their crime, Nortia demands they serve as a specialist. She was thoroughly impressed by their ability to break into her office undetected, and thus believes Charlie would make for an ideal spy. 

Together, the three train and rise through the ranks. Elric graduates as a PFC and is assigned to Yori as her assistant. Their primary job is to guard the railway leading into and out of their home country of Sabine. Trains carrying supplies of every sort are often targeted by a group known simply as the Thieves’ Guild. 

During one of their guard shifts, they spy a strange Simenti woman being chased by another Simenti. They decide to intervene and help the woman, who turns out to be Calina Shaori. 

Calina was a former member of the Guild, after having been taken in by its leader: Lacrimosa. Her mother died when she was just a child and never knew her father. As such, Calina feels as though the Guild is her real family. 

However, despite this, she always felt unsafe during their raids. After plenty of close calls and near death experiences, she demanded Lacrimosa do something to keep them safer. When he couldn’t guarantee her safety, she decided to leave. Before she does, she steals two swords: one with a ruby gemstone on the hilt, and the other a sapphire. 

Elric, Yori, and Calina dispatch the man chasing Calina, who turns out to be a member of the Thieves’ Guild. He reveals they’ll be hunting Calina to take back her swords after her betrayal. They arrest the thief and send him back to Sabine for detainment. Calina thanks them and decides to leave, hoping she can stay hidden once again.

The next day, Charlie arrives and instructs Elric and Yori that they are to escort them to Catol. When prompted about the purpose of the mission, Charlie simply mentions they are to head to Catol’s capital office.. As far as Elric and Yori are concerned, they just need to supervise them and ensure their task gets done. While Nortia does trust Charlie to an extent, they are still a potential threat, and thus need constant observation. 

The trio board the next train to Catol. While on the train, they come across Calina once more. She reveals she’d been chased by another member of the guild and jumped on the train for protection.

As they come across the thief, he apparently kills Charlie, stabbing them in the chest. Elric, Yori, and Calina successfully detain the thief, but in the confusion, Charlie’s body disappears. Before they can celebrate capturing the thief, the train cabin is disconnected from the rest of the train, leaving them stranded. 

Elric, Yori, and Calina forge on without Charlie, deciding to go towards Catol. They hope that somehow, someway, Charlie made it there. However, just outside of Catol’s border, a third member of the guild ambushes Elric and Calina.

She manages to stab Calina in the stomach and cut Elric’s eye open, blinding him. Yori dispatches the thief and drags Elric and Calina the rest of the way to Catol for treatment.

After they recover, they make their way to the capital office in Catol. Elric and Calina go undercover to find Charlie in the hope that they find them. There, they met Calum, president of Catol. As they approach her office, they come across Charlie. Elric and Calina ask a ton of questions: how are they alive? What are they doing here? 

Charlie explains they were sent to obtain dirt on Calum. Nortia believed Calum to have ‘betrayed her people’, but they are interrupted. Lacrimosa and Calum detains the trio and disarms them, taking Elric’s makeshift spear, Calina’s jeweled swords, and Charlie’s gun and knife. After being brought to Calum’s office, Charlie gets into a physical altercation with Lacrimosa, and only ends when he seemingly kills them. 

Elric and Calina ‘interrogate’ Calum. They discover that Calum rigged her election, but as they talk, Charlie kicks the door and assaults Lacrimosa once more. Yori, keeping watch outside, finally gets a clear shot of Calum’s office and kills Lacrimosa. Calum escapes and flees.

After everyone reunites, Charlie explains their true goal. Fifteen years ago, they were part of an organization known as The Light of Truth. Their name was not always ‘Charlie,’ but rather Shanalotte. They sought to fight for better conditions for miners who would regularly get sick on the job. They knew Elric’s parents as they were both founding members of the union.

However, despite their peaceful ways, Nortia sought to silence them. She has the entire group killed, including both of Elric’s parents, and Charlie. However, Charlie awakes five years later, buried in a hill. They climb out, starved, confused, and alive. They learn that they are functionally immortal, no matter how much they sustain damage. They also do not age physically.

When asked why Nortia would kill all the miners in the union, Charlie talks about Nortia’s apparent obsession with the legendary gemstones. Long ago, the gods were said to have shaped the entire world and left fragments of their powers in the form of a ruby and a sapphire. The gemstones were said to be lost to time, potentially buried. Nortia saw the union as a threat to locating the gems.

Calina recalls the gemstones in her swords, one being a ruby and the other a sapphire. Calum had confiscated her swords, potentially believing she had come into possession of the real legendary gemstones. 

Charlie goes on to explain that Nortia and Calum had secretly worked together to locate these gems. Nortia would dramatically increase resource mining, and Calum would fund the Thieves’ Guild to hunt for the gemstones anywhere they could. Both Nortia and Calum believe the world need the intervention of the gods once again. 

Together, Elric, Yori, Calina, and Charlie make their way back to Sabine, only to confront specialists from the army. They are forced to fight off several of their old friends on the way back to Sabine.

Once they return home, Yori stays behind to fend off a former soldier who sides with Nortia. Elric, Charlie, and Calina move ahead to confront Nortia and Calum, who have both gathered in Nortia’s office. However, when they arrive, they only find Calum, strangely still and quiet. It’s revealed that, prior to their arrival, Nortia and Calum performed a ritual to ‘activate’ the gemstones’ latent power, granting them each an affinity.

Calum’s affinity is precognition, granting her future sight. Nortia’s, however, is soul domination. Once glare is enough to will the susceptible into her control, essentially acting as puppets. 

Elric and Calina fight off Calum while Charlie moves on ahead to confront Nortia. When they do, however, they fall under Nortia’s control, unable to resist. Nortia convinces them that they can go back to their old life, before joining The Light of Truth, and reunite happily with their parents.

Yori sets her sights on the military complex and spots Nortia near the window. Nortia gazes back at Yori and attempts to break her will. However, Yori refuses, finding newfound resolve in not only her friends, but herself.

She fires one last shot and kills Nortia, breaking her affinity’s control over Charlie and Calum. After the battle, Calum comes clean and turns herself in, admitting to all of the horrible things both she and (the now deceased) Nortia had done, all while covering for Elric’s, Yori’s, Charlie’s, and Calina’s involvement. 

Yori and Calina take the gemstones, promising to take care of one each. They joke that it’s like a wedding ring, because they’re gay for each other. Elric takes Charlie--now going by Shanalotte--back to their childhood home, where they can finally reunite with their parents.

Years later, Yori writes a book on advanced sniping tactics, offering sage advice for those who feel overwhelmed or insecure of their ability. That feeling of anxiety and hopelessness is never gone for good, but close friends can abate it. No matter how you were born, you can always overcome the odds and excel in some way. 

**Author's Note:**

> If you're a new reader: welcome! If you're an old reader looking for a refresher before Black Hornet: welcome back! I really appreciate the read, and I sincerely hope you enjoyed it. Please look forward to Black Hornet, which should hopefully be coming early next year! I've written up a large chunk of it and look to finish a couple more chapters before I start publishing it. Please stay tuned and share Affinity Unbound and Black Hornet with your friends!


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